Use the right words to describe Next Actions

Merlin Mann over at 43folders.com has done it again: he's found an currently out-of-print guide which includes David Allen's lists of Project Verbs versus Next Action Verbs. Why care? Because if you describe Next Actions wrongly it's like tying your shoelaces together and then expecting to be able to run. It doesn't work.

A Next Action in Getting Things Done parlance is the next physical action you can take that moves you closer to completion a task, set of tasks, project or goal. Without a physical verb, you're not defining a Next Action, and the whole system Allen has conceived breaks down. This is one of the easiest ways of fracking up your GTD system.

Here's a few examples - checkout Merlin's post for more:

• Worthless verbs that define impossible to take Next Actions: Finalize, Resolve, Handle, Look into. Treat these like the flashing red lights they are.
• Verbs that define Physical - and therefore doable - Next Actions: Call, Organize, Review, Buy, Fill out, Find, Purge.

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[Lisa Peake]

Hi Bob,

Just one addendum to this list of "bad" next action words (which of course are also great Project words)- I once had "find" on my action list and when I received workflow coaching from a colleague here at The David Allen Company, my coach immediately recommended I use "look for" instead. "Find" may not be possible or doable as a next action. In fact, if the item is truly lost, find will never be possible. So give yourself something you can cross off the list like "Look for". I love these subtle little differences that can keep the mind clutter free. Thanks for your post!